I weighed myself with and without the pack before my overnight trip this past weekend. It was 21.2 pounds with 2 liters of water and 1.5 - 2 pounds of food. That doesn't include my clothes or shoes because I didn't take them off to weigh myself without the pack. I don't get the point of "skin-out" weight. My backpacking clothing and shoes are similar weight to what I wear the rest of the time, so it really has little to do with backpacking weight. If it's not in the pack, it doesn't contribute to the backpack digging into my hip bones and collar bones and restricting my walking motion.